One of the most powerful cosmic rays has been detailed by Earth-based telescopes. This cosmic ray operates across all wavelengths and has helped us uncover the nature of a “cosmic monster” that traveled from the ancient universe.
According to Sci-Tech Daily, a research team from Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) discovered a rare luminous energy ray moving at nearly the speed of light, generated by an extremely catastrophic event in the universe about 8.5 billion years ago.
Surpassing that vast space-time, the energy source is so powerful that it remains an unusual beam in the eyes of Earth-based telescopes.
Graphic illustration of a TDE with a supermassive black hole emitting a powerful jet – (Image: Swinburne University of Technology).
Over 20 telescopes from the USA, Australia, India, France, Chile, and other countries were mobilized to investigate the mysterious light source and confirmed it as a TDE – a tidal disruption event where a black hole consumes a star.
After the intense feeding frenzy and consumption of the unfortunate star, the black hole emitted a powerful “burp” in the form of an incredibly strong jet. This high-energy material is what dazzles Earth-based telescopes, even though its light has traveled through space for 8.5 billion light-years.
The event has been named AT2022cmc, an unusual TDE that must have been emitted by a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole.
“These observations help us explore extreme physics and energy that cannot be produced on Earth,” said Professor Jeff Cooke, the lead author of the study.
The research has just been published in the scientific journal Nature.
